Planting Seeds Of Preservation

Kane County Makes Sure Two Farmsteads That Have Stood For More Than 100 Years Will Be Around For Future Generations.

December 28, 1999|By Phil Borchmann. Special to the Tribune.

Even at nearly 156 years old, the Eddy-Swanson farmstead in rural Kane County looks fit enough for a calendar photo.

Two towering grain silos and a large gambrel-style horse barn are among several rustic, red outbuildings dotting the tree-lined property. Nearby, a grand white Italianate house, with a wrap-around porch and bay windows, balances the setting on Old Burlington Road east of Bolcum Road.

It is a vista so dear to owners Judy Hines and her husband, Frank Collingbourne, that they have decided to preserve it forever.

"I see that it is so easy in rural and urban settings to tear down old buildings and put up new ones," Hines said. "If they come down, though, we will no longer have that history."

The Kane County Board recently placed the Eddy-Swanson farm, as well as the Reckinger farm near Batavia, on its register of historic places. The designation means that buildings on the property cannot be torn down or modified in a way that will diminish their character.

"It's a response to sprawl," said Ted Hild, deputy state historic preservation officer with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which administers the National Register of Historic Places. "The preservation of farm buildings is related to the preservation of open space and prime farmland."

So far, the Reckinger farm, in Blackberry Township on Seavey Road east of Lake Run Road, remains untouched by housing developments. But the Reckingers know it is just a matter of time before new rooftops appear, possibly threatening the future of a farm that has been in the family for more than 100 years.

In 1882, Detroit native Michael Reckinger bought the property, which consisted of a small home on 80 acres. Fifteen years later, he built the gable-roofed English barn at a cost of $1,000.

Over the next several decades, the Reckingers, including Michael's son, Peter, and grandson and current owner, Peter Jr., constructed chicken coops, hog and cow sheds, a corn crib, milk house and other buildings, most of them dating back to the early 1900s. The farm quickly grew to 350 acres, and in 1951 a second house was built on the parcel for Peter Jr.

In naming the property to the county's register of historic places, officials called the farm an "outdoor museum" that includes many outbuildings "no longer commonly used on common farms."

In addition to the integrity of the farm, the condition of the buildings also was an important criteria in granting the designation. Despite years of heavy use, the rugged buildings are in remarkable shape, painted a deep hue of barn red and standing solid.

"It takes an awful lot of work to keep these buildings up," said Peter Reckinger Jr. "At a lot of places, the buildings just fall."

In addition to reinforcing studs and replacing shingles and siding, the Reckingers scrape the buildings every four years or so and throw on another 80 gallons of paint.

Peter Reckinger, 76, and his son Joe, 41, who is next in line to own the farm, raise corn, soybeans and about 70 hogs these days, having abandoned the poultry and livestock business several years ago.

"It's almost like a hobby farm," Joe Reckinger said.

But Joe and his sister, Mary Coffey, know that their kids likely will carry on the tradition, so they sought to have it protected though the historic designation.

"We want to keep it as original as possible," Joe said. "We'll be surrounded by homes but nobody will be able to take it from us."

Being placed on the list of historic places also ties farm owners' hands a bit when it comes to fixing up the outside, said Mark VanKerkhoff, director of Kane County's community services division.

Under landmark status, owners must consult with the county before making any exterior changes, to ensure that the proper material is being used and that the work will not affect the integrity of the building, VanKerkhoff said.

"We want it close to the way it was built. Not a lot of change," he said.

The Kane County Register of Historic Places was created in 1988, along with a companion ordinance and commission, to provide a method to preserve properties. When a property is nominated, an application must be completed, bearing detailed accounts of the history, architectural styles and any innovative features, VanKerkhoff said.

The Eddy-Swanson farm breezed through the application process.

Bought in 1843 by Harry Eddy, the farmstead sat vacant until about 1860, when the 3,000-square-foot, two-story house was built. Over the next 70 years, outbuildings were added, including a gable-roofed dairy barn, the horse barn, hog and calf sheds and the two poured-concrete silos. The property was bought in the late 1800s by the Swanson family, which ran it for 90 more years.

Hines and her husband, who have restored historic buildings in Elgin in the past, bought the farm in 1997 and committed themselves to preserving it. They have begun taking down aluminum covering to reveal interesting trim features, such as wood brackets that brace the eaves.

All that's left of the farm is the 5 acres where the well-kept buildings stand. Still, that's enough for Hines, a health-care consultant who enjoys peering around the property, imagining what life was like there in years past.